Wheat purchase picks up after norms eased
By Sandip Das
The procurement of wheat by government agencies has picked up pace after norms were relaxed last week — with the overall purchase till Wednesday down only 11% year-on-year compared with 70% a week ago. Agencies have so far procured 14.86 million tonne (MT) of wheat from 1.23 million farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) in the 2026-27 marketing season (April-June). In the first fortnight of April, the procurement stood at only 1.53 MT only, a fall of 70% on-year.
The procurement got a boost after the food ministry relaxed last week norms for the harvest hit by unseasonal rains in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan — increasing the permissible limit to 15% from 6% for shrivelled and broken grains and up to 70% for lustre loss.
State-Wise Performance
The overall purchase was against arrivals of over 18.8 MT in mandis across key producing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The wheat purchase in Punjab till Wednesday was the highest at 6.72 MT, up 37% year-on-year, while in Haryana it stood at 6.19 MT, an increase of 15%. Punjab contributed 12.2 MT to the central pool in the previous season, out of the total 30 MT. In Madhya Pradesh, the second-biggest contributor to the central pool, the procurement operation has been sluggish at only 1.07 MT, a decline of 80% year-on-year.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, in a post in X on Thursday, stated that the Centre has increased wheat procurement target in the state to 10 MT from 7.8 MT in the current season. “Wheat purchase will be carried out in a staggered manner starting with smallholders farmers followed by those with medium and large land holdings,” Yadav said.
Rajasthan (0.5 MT) and Uttar Pradesh (0.3 MT) are other major contributors to the central pool wheat stock so far.
The agencies are aiming to buy over 30 MT of wheat this marketing season in key producing states to bolster stock and ensure supplies under the public distribution system.
Trade sources said with a robust arrivals and relaxation in procurement norm, overall procurement during the season may exceed 30 MT.
At present, the FCI has over 28.38 MT of wheat as the central pool stock against a buffer of 7.46 MT for April 1.
Balancing the Buffer
The agriculture ministry has projected a record 120 MT of wheat output in the 2025-2026 crop years (July-June). Trade sources said that the output would be definitely higher than 117 MT in the 2024-25 crop year but likely to less by 2 MT from the government’s estimate. The government has announced an MSP of `2,585/quintal for the current marketing year.
To stabilise prices which are currently ruling around the MSP and prevent distress sale, the government last week approved an additional 2.5 MT of wheat exports, taking the approved shipments in the current season to 5 MT of wheat and 1 MT of wheat products.
The decision to allow additional quota for exports, followed a comprehensive review of current production, stock availability, and price trends, according to the statement.
In February, the government lifted the over four-year ban on wheat exports.
This article has been republished from The Financial Express.